Hi, my name is Amy.

I was born on Friday the 13th of November, 1981, in Rock Rapids, Iowa. I am the youngest of three children.

I lived briefly on a farm (i.e. I don’t remember it) in very rural Iowa until my family moved to Vermillion, South Dakota. I lived there until I ran off to college at Augustana College in neighboring Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It wasn’t quite the right fit for me (and maybe it wasn’t quite far enough away from home), so for my sophomore year in college I moved in with my sister in St. Paul, Minnesota, and began going to school at the University of Minnesota.

I worked as a student receptionist at the Bell Museum of Natural History through my college years, and when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in German Studies, I joined the staff as an accountant. I continued going to classes in photography and graphic design while working full-time at the Bell Museum as an accountant and also “volunteering” for a role in designing publications and exhibits.

I was starting to think about getting a Masters of Fine Arts degree, but I was hired as a designer in the marketing department at a company that provides computer-based testing instead — and this is where I currently work.

I have two silly kitties, Ellipses and Ampersand. I live in “Nordeast,” in the upper half of a duplex, which I rent from my friend, Kristi, and her husband, Jared. Ampersand is currently trying to sit on my hands, so I better put the computer away and give her snuggles.